• News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
Researchers say new AI can accurately detect health conditions by just looking at your tongue

Home> News> AI

Published 16:13 19 Aug 2024 GMT+1

Researchers say new AI can accurately detect health conditions by just looking at your tongue

Your tongue can suggest underlying health issues

Rebekah Jordan

Rebekah Jordan

AI is developing at a rapid rate.

It's already making headlines for its capabilities in predicting health conditions and even more worringly, when we will die.

Now, medical researchers are claiming that their new AI algorithm can identify health issues with just the colour of your tongue.

Yep, that taste-tingling organ in your mouth can be a marker of health status.

Advert

What's interesting is that this novel system is based on the ancient medical practice of tongue diagnosis but with the modern twist of machine learning (ML).

Westend61 / Olga Shefer / Getty
Westend61 / Olga Shefer / Getty

Main author Ali Al-Naji, an adjunct professor at Baghdad's Middle Technical University and at the University of South Australia, said he drew inspiration from traditional Chinese medicine, which has long used tongue analysis to diagnose health issues.

'The colour, shape, and thickness of the tongue can reveal a litany of health conditions,' Al-Naji said.

Advert

Javaan Chahl, a co-author of the study highlighted that not only is this 'computerised tongue analysis' safe and effective, but it also 'backs up modern methods with a centuries-old practice.'

Teaching hospitals in the Middle East provided 60 tongue photos from patients with various conditions, from gastrointestinal problems to COVID-19. The AI managed to pinpoint the condition with over 98% accuracy, all based on tongue colour.

The system was trained with more than 5,200 tongue images with their associated diagnoses, separating it into six separate ML algorithms.

Westend61 / Olga Shefer / Getty
Westend61 / Olga Shefer / Getty

Advert

The team tested whether it could 'predict tongue colour under any lighting condition,' as the study, published in the journal Technologies, noted.

What's more is that the least accurate of these systems, the naïve Bayes methodology, still achieved more than 91% rate of accuracy, while the open-source XGBoost framework nailed it with a closely followed 98.71% success rate.

The study was affiliated with universities in Baghdad and Australia and drew on current medical data.

A yellow tongue might signal diabetes whilst a purple-coated tongue could be a sign of cancer, and an oddly shaped red tongue might suggest individuals with acute stroke.

Advert

'A white tongue can indicate anaemia; people with severe cases of COVID-19 are likely to have a deep-red tongue.' Al-Naji told the New York Post. 'An indigo- or violet-coloured tongue indicates vascular and gastrointestinal issues or asthma.'

The researchers are now working on a smartphone app so people can receive these predictive diagnostics from the comfort of their homes.

Featured Image Credit: Westend61 / Olga Shefer / Getty
AI
Health
Science

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

15 hours ago
16 hours ago
  • 15 hours ago

    US deals with security breach as AI scammer impersonates Secretary of State Marco Rubio to foreign ministers

    The scammer was sending AI-generated voicemails

    News
  • 15 hours ago

    Investor who sold revolutionary tech for 300 Bitcoin is worth a small fortune decade later

    He's been all in on Bitcoin since he was 12

    News
  • 16 hours ago

    Tragic story of once bustling California town left 90% destroyed by one small piece of metal

    The fire tragically claimed the lives of 85 people

    News
  • 16 hours ago

    Man branded 'dishonest and deceitful' fired after company discovered he was faking over 100 hours of work at home

    A warning to others who think they can slack off when working from home

    News
  • Scientists develop electronic tongue they say reveals ‘inner thoughts’ of AI
  • Dentist warns 'vaper's tongue' could lead to severe health problems
  • AI-powered 'Death Clock' can eerily predict the age you'll die and how
  • Reason why you should never say this one word to your AI chatbot